Erigaisi also requested External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and the All India Chess Federation (AICF) to help him get the visa.
Inspired by the iconic trophy lift of cricket captain Rohit Sharma during the 2024 T20I World Cup in June, the chess players replicated the gesture.
T Abhay, Rajadarshini and N Raghavi joined Arun Prasad and Mary Ann Gomes in the Indian team.
Indian eves suffered a disastrous 1-2 loss against 27th seed England in the 14th and final round of the women's section of the Chess Olympiad.
Indian men finished sixth after beating Bulgaria 2.5-1.5 in the 14th and final round of the 36th Chess Olympiad.
Hungarian boys tallied an impressive 29.5 point out of a possible 40 and won the championship.
Indian men faced yet another reverse in their medal quest when they succumbed to a 1.5-2.5 against third seeds Israel.
Russian chess Grandmaster Boris Spassky, who took French nationality in 1978, was the 10th World chess champion, holding the title from 1969-1972, when he lost it to American Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik in a contest later dubbed as the "Match of the Century".
On a mixed day for India at the 32nd Chess Olympiad, the women's team defeated Bulgaria to move up to joint-third place while the men slipped to tied 10th after losing to France in the seventh round. Asian women's champion Tania Sachdev and Asian junior girls' winner Mary Ann Gomes helped the Indian women to a 2.5-1.5 victory over Bulgaria.
International Master Tania Sachdev registered her sixth victory in seven games as the Indian women's team cruised to a 3-1 victory over lower-ranked Estonia to take the joint-fourth spot after the seventh round in the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul.
Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta won a silver by pocketing seven points out of nine games while Tania Sachdev turned out to be the best woman performer for India with a bronze medal in the Chess Olympiad, that concluded in Istanbul Turkey on Sunday.
On a disappointing day for India, the men's team bowed out of medal contention after conceding another draw, while the women were tamed 1-3 by Russia in the ninth round of the 40th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul.
India 'B' defeated Germany 3-1 in their final round match to end at third position.
ll India Chess Federation (AICF) has offered Vidit Gujrathi and Koneru Humpy to play the remaining matches from five-star hotels.
Joining the elite 2,800 rated chess players club will get Arjun invites for top chess tournaments as well as better appearance fees.
Norway's Magnus Carlsen continues to be the undisputed world No.1 with 2832.5 points, followed by United States' Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura (2802) and country-mate Fabiano Caruana (2798).
The youngest-ever world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju will take on Magnus Carlsen, the world's highest-rated player, in a highly-anticipated contest at next year's Norway Chess.
In the women section being held alongside, Indian women played out a hard-fought draw against experienced Georgia 1 team. All the games were drawn.
Overjoyed by India's remarkable dual triumph at the Chess Olympiad, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand said that while this marks a promising beginning, there is still much work to be done for women's chess in the country.
Four draws and two wins on Under-20 boards helped India pull off the victory against the Chinese.
International Master Tania Sachdev led the charge as the Indian women's team crashed through the defenses of Israel and romped to a huge 3.5-0.5 victory in the 10th and penultimate round of the Chess Olympiad in Istanbul.
With her family in tow, Humpy met the PM and described it as a "once-in-a-lifetime privilege."
D Gukesh saw the world championship trophy for the first time on Friday after becoming the youngest ever to win it but said he would wait a while before laying his hands on it.
Harika Dronavalli, a seasoned player, fulfilled her lifelong dream of winning an Olympiad medal after two decades.
Three of the four Indian Open team players are in line for gold and silver medals for the individual performance.
India was held to a 3-3 draw by lower-ranked Mongolia in the sixth round as favourites China grabbed the top spot in Pool A in the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad on Saturday.
Back to the Olympiad after a gap of 12 years, Anand was precise in calculation and brilliant in judgement giving away nothing to Ragger who was all at sea defending a difficult position out of the opening on Tuesday evening.
'Played chess with champions! Even blindfolded, their moves can checkmate you.'
Arjun Erigaisi breathed a sigh of relief after receiving his US visa to compete in the upcoming World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York
'It will bring the next wave of awareness and pursuit of excellence from people who want to take chess as a game or a competitive sport or even as a career.'
The Indian men and women's teams made winning starts to their campaign in the 43rd Chess Olympiad, in Batumi, Georgia, on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded India's young chess players for their historic achievement at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, where both the men's and women's teams clinched their maiden gold medals.
In a groundbreaking moment for Indian chess, Arjun Erigaisi has become the second player from India and the sixteenth player globally to surpass the 2800 live rating mark.
'This introduction that has now been in place for sometime could well give that additional flavour for the chess players as they will be able to guess the pressure that a certain player is feeling during the course of a game.'
Teenager Gukesh Dommaraju of India became the youngest chess world champion by beating defending champion Ding Liren of China on Thursday
'I have no idea about such a medal. Never got one,' says Surya Shekhar Ganguly, the national chess champion between 2003 and 2008.
Dommaraju Gukesh, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu Vaishali and men's team captain Srinath Narayanan landed Chennai on Tuesday morning.
India had a disappointing outing at the 43rd Chess Olympiad with the men's team finishing a poor sixth and the women ending their campaign at a lowly eighth spot, in Batumi, on Friday.
Indian chess Grandmaster R Vaishali has set her sights on two key objectives this year: delivering consistent performances and securing a spot in the prestigious Candidates Tournament.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances